Parents for Climate strongly opposes the proposed three-year ban by the federal government on litigation over misleading climate claims.
Representing more than 17,000 supporters, Parents for Climate filed a claim against EnergyAustralia in August for false or misleading advertising, saying the company’s GoNeutral product misled consumers into thinking it had no polluting impact on the climate.
Parents for Climate CEO Nic Seton said: “Parents who want a safe climate for our kids have bought products advertised as ‘green’, ‘clean’ or ‘carbon neutral’ in good faith.
“If we discover we’ve been misled into buying things that harm our kids, this denies us justice.
“We’re a tiny organisation with just four staff, and we don’t take an action like suing Australia’s third-biggest polluter lightly. But our parent members are tired of being misled when we’re trying to do the right thing by our kids.
“The arguments for a ban like this might have made sense 20 years ago, maybe even 10. But it’s 2023, and temperatures are already dangerously high for our kids. A ban like this seems to take no account of that - we don’t have endless time to coddle big polluters.”
Parents for Climate chair Harriet Fesq said: “Parents are time-poor, and we need companies to tell the truth about their products.
“All parents want the label to match what’s in the tin when we’re in the supermarket. And parents who want a safe climate for our kids buy the cleanest energy we can when we’re shopping for power.
“Taking away our recourse when we’ve been misled is not only unfair to us, it will lead to a more dangerous climate for our kids.
“A policy like this protects polluters at the expense of our kids’ safety. Parents for Climate strongly urges the federal government to find alternatives to a ban which would deny justice to those harmed by misleading climate claims.”
Parents for Climate was founded in 2019 as “Australian Parents for Climate Action” by six mums from rural, regional and urban Australia who wanted to support their children who were involved in the School Strikes for Climate.
The organisation has now grown to 17,000 supporters across the country, and has campaigned successfully for solar on school rooftops, leading to $71 million in funding commitments across multiple states.